Many industrial processes require aerosolizing of fluids, or treating of a mixture of fluids and/or fluids and solids. Treatment of a fluid, a mixture of fluids, or a mixture of fluids and solids can be in the form of atomizing the liquid and pulverizing or de-agglomerizing the solids carried by the fluid. Current means and methods for effecting such treatment include, among others, atomizing, mist producing, and pulverizing nozzles and as well as vibration machinery. The art includes many examples of equipment embodying these mechanisms and processes. While some of the known equipment is effective, many forms of such equipment have high power requirements. In particular, atomizing, or spraying nozzles require high motive gas pressure as well as high (typically 4 to 6) gas to liquid mass flow rate ratio while producing relatively large mean droplet sizes. Such nozzles production rate reduces drastically when small, sub micron to micron size droplets are required as well as posses other drawbacks. Some related equipment, and especially gas compressors may have high initial and maintenance cost and the like. Cost problems may be exacerbated if the required gas pressure is high. If the rotating equipment is large and/or bulky, the cost factors can be even further worsened by large space requirements.
Furthermore, many industrial processes require pumping the fluids, or mixtures of fluids and solids, from respective sources to the processing apparatus. Negative suction head is often used for fluids or fluids and solids mixtures transportation. Current means for forming negative suction heads include vacuum pumps and flow ejectors. Vacuum pumps consume a lot of energy and are known to be heavy, bulky and expensive to operate. Flow ejectors could be relatively small and inexpensive but are capable of providing only small suction head at moderate (≦30 psig) primary fluid pressure. Therefore, there is a need for an efficient and reliable means and method for treating fluids, or solids in mixtures of fluids and solids, and for a means and method for reliably and efficiently operating on such mixtures or components of such mixtures.